Meadowbank Homestead was designed by the architectural firm Collins and Harman for George Edward Rhodes (1866-1936), on a farm Rhodes owned, situated on the edge of Waihora (Lake Ellesmere), near Christchurch. The Meadowbank farm had been established by Thomas Overton (1804-1869) in 1862. Overton was one of seven early Pakeha settlers in the Irwell/Leeston district. In 1874 Meadowbank was sold by Overton's heirs to a banker, Henry Hoare, who sold it sixteen years later to Rhodes.
George was the son of Robert Heaton Rhodes (1815-1884), an important early Canterbury colonist. Educated at Christ's College, Christchurch, George then studied at Oxford and later fought in the South African (Boer) War with the 'Rough Riders', the Third Contingent, New Zealand Mounted Rifles. George married Ellen Laura Amy Perry (?-1931), also known as Nellie, in November 1890, the same year he purchased the Meadowbank estate. The Rhodes' large three-storey timber homestead was constructed the following year and George developed Meadowbank into a model farm. He specialised in breeding Southdown sheep and Berkshire pigs and also used Meadowbank to fatten stock. Many of the mature exotic trees on the estate were planted by George. In the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand (1903) Meadowbank was described as an estate of 1000 acres (around 405 hectares), much improved by George Rhodes. His house was described as a 'large and commodious mansion...situated on rising ground commanding a noble view of the Southern Alps and the intervening plains'.
Meadowbank Homestead was designed by architectural firm, Collins and Harman, and is a large, eclectic, timber mansion. Collins and Harman designed many dwellings around the Canterbury region and were well-known for their domestic designs as well as for such Christchurch buildings as the Press building (1909) and the Nurses' Memorial Chapel (1927) . The house designed for Meadowbank is three-storeyed, asymmetrical in plan and dominated by the many, various sized gables. The gables have bargeboards and are topped with either timber or cast iron finials. The main entrance to the house, on the north facade, is situated under a square tower with a pavilion roof. With its mock half timbering, Tudor arches, bay and oriel windows, verandah and square tower, Meadowbank is a picturesque and rambling house blending elements of various English architectural styles.
The Rhodes sold Meadowbank in 1916 and moved first to Elmwood and then 'Beverley' in Riccarton. Meadowbank changed hands a number of times between 1916 and 1923. It was then purchased by (Arthur) Tahu (Grovenor) Rhodes (1893-1947), George's second cousin. Tahu and his wife were noted for the lavish entertaining and parties they threw for the social elite of Canterbury. They were friends of Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982), the world-renowned crime writer. She often stayed at Meadowbank and described it in her autobiography as a 'house, twenty miles away in the country. Its doors opened into a life whose scale of values, casual grandeur, cockeyed gaiety and vague friendliness will bewilder and delight me for the rest of my days'. Tahu Rhodes sold Meadowbank in 1926.
After being owned and farmed by I. K. Buchanan for 14 years Meadowbank was bought by Henry Neave in 1940. At this stage the estate had been reduced to 146 hectares (just over 360 acres). Neave was well-known in the local area and later became the director of the Canterbury Seed Company. He established a South Suffolk stud at Meadowbank. His son Gordon took over the estate in 1953. It remained in the Neave family until 1994 when they subdivided the land and sold the homestead with around 10 hectares (25 acres) of land.
Meadowbank Homestead is a fine example of the large rambling country houses beloved of the elite in Victorian New Zealand. Its architectural associations with various historic English styles linked the second and third generations of Pakeha New Zealanders to the place they still knew as 'Home'. Meadowbank has been owned by two branches of the Rhodes family, who played a significant part in the development of Canterbury, and the homestead was immortalised in the autobiography of Dame Ngaio Marsh as the house of the Lampreys (her nickname for the Rhodes). Meadowbank had a long association with the Neave family and remains one of Canterbury's finest country houses.
George was the son of Robert Heaton Rhodes (1815-1884), an important early Canterbury colonist. Educated at Christ's College, Christchurch, George then studied at Oxford and later fought in the South African (Boer) War with the 'Rough Riders', the Third Contingent, New Zealand Mounted Rifles. George married Ellen Laura Amy Perry (?-1931), also known as Nellie, in November 1890, the same year he purchased the Meadowbank estate. The Rhodes' large three-storey timber homestead was constructed the following year and George developed Meadowbank into a model farm. He specialised in breeding Southdown sheep and Berkshire pigs and also used Meadowbank to fatten stock. Many of the mature exotic trees on the estate were planted by George. In the Cyclopaedia of New Zealand (1903) Meadowbank was described as an estate of 1000 acres (around 405 hectares), much improved by George Rhodes. His house was described as a 'large and commodious mansion...situated on rising ground commanding a noble view of the Southern Alps and the intervening plains'.
Meadowbank Homestead was designed by architectural firm, Collins and Harman, and is a large, eclectic, timber mansion. Collins and Harman designed many dwellings around the Canterbury region and were well-known for their domestic designs as well as for such Christchurch buildings as the Press building (1909) and the Nurses' Memorial Chapel (1927) . The house designed for Meadowbank is three-storeyed, asymmetrical in plan and dominated by the many, various sized gables. The gables have bargeboards and are topped with either timber or cast iron finials. The main entrance to the house, on the north facade, is situated under a square tower with a pavilion roof. With its mock half timbering, Tudor arches, bay and oriel windows, verandah and square tower, Meadowbank is a picturesque and rambling house blending elements of various English architectural styles.
The Rhodes sold Meadowbank in 1916 and moved first to Elmwood and then 'Beverley' in Riccarton. Meadowbank changed hands a number of times between 1916 and 1923. It was then purchased by (Arthur) Tahu (Grovenor) Rhodes (1893-1947), George's second cousin. Tahu and his wife were noted for the lavish entertaining and parties they threw for the social elite of Canterbury. They were friends of Dame Ngaio Marsh (1895-1982), the world-renowned crime writer. She often stayed at Meadowbank and described it in her autobiography as a 'house, twenty miles away in the country. Its doors opened into a life whose scale of values, casual grandeur, cockeyed gaiety and vague friendliness will bewilder and delight me for the rest of my days'. Tahu Rhodes sold Meadowbank in 1926.
After being owned and farmed by I. K. Buchanan for 14 years Meadowbank was bought by Henry Neave in 1940. At this stage the estate had been reduced to 146 hectares (just over 360 acres). Neave was well-known in the local area and later became the director of the Canterbury Seed Company. He established a South Suffolk stud at Meadowbank. His son Gordon took over the estate in 1953. It remained in the Neave family until 1994 when they subdivided the land and sold the homestead with around 10 hectares (25 acres) of land.
Meadowbank Homestead is a fine example of the large rambling country houses beloved of the elite in Victorian New Zealand. Its architectural associations with various historic English styles linked the second and third generations of Pakeha New Zealanders to the place they still knew as 'Home'. Meadowbank has been owned by two branches of the Rhodes family, who played a significant part in the development of Canterbury, and the homestead was immortalised in the autobiography of Dame Ngaio Marsh as the house of the Lampreys (her nickname for the Rhodes). Meadowbank had a long association with the Neave family and remains one of Canterbury's finest country houses.
